Brian Turner on AVL Districts, Gerrymandering, and Renewable Energy

Democratic Representative Brian Turner of Buncombe County stopped by our studios in late July for a chat with BPR's Jeremy Loeb. They covered his amendment to the Asheville districts bill, the overall redistricting process underway in the General Assembly now, a renewable energy bill signed by Governor Roy Cooper, and much more.

The long-debated Asheville districts bill is now law. The North Carolina House passed the bill forcing districts for Asheville city council members, and the Senate quickly concurred. It passed despite the lone Asheville Democrat in favor withdrawing his support after it was amended.

A bill requiring the city of Asheville to adopt districts for the purpose of electing council members is one step closer to passage after picking up the key support of Rep. Brian Turner (D-Buncombe). The bill put forward by Republican Senator Chuck Edwards of Hendersonville got support not only from Turner but from at least one Republican who opposed a similar bill from his predecessor, Senator Tom Apodoca, also of Hendersonville. But Turner told BPR he would be unlikely to support the bill if an amendment he plans to introduce is not adopted.

With lawmakers back in Raleigh for their long session, we’re taking the time to speak to the members from out here in the west. Today, Brian Turner, a Democrat of Buncombe County. Turner represents District 116 in the House of Representatives.

This week, state lawmakers are on their version of spring break, and many local legislators are home. That gave us an opportunity to sit down and talk about the current session with many of them. We reached out to members of both parties, and will air excerpts from the interviews in the order they were conducted. We start today with Representative Brian Turner. He’s a Democrat representing Buncombe County. The first-term legislator scored an upset win over Tim Moffitt in November’s election, one among just a few bright spots for Democrats in an otherwise tough election cycle.